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News, Reviews & Commentary on Lesbian and Bisexual women in Entertainment and the Media

Sarah Warn

by Sarah Warn

Janis Hawk comes out as a lesbian on "FlashForward"

As much as I like the premise of the new ABC drama FlashForward —  a mystery in which a team of FBI agents try to piece together what happened when everyone on earth blacks out for two minutes at the same time — I've been a little bored with the show.

Not a good sign when the show is only on its fourth episodes (it took me at least a season and a half to get tired of Lost).

**spoilers for this episode only**

But the show suddenly got interesting again in this week's episode ("Gimme Some Truth"), when FBI agent Janis Hawk (Christine Woods) had a very romantic date with a chef named Maya (played by Numb3rs star Navi Rawat), in a development the series has been hinting at from the beginning.

It was revealed on the date that Janis is a lesbian who stays closeted on the job because, "I work for the federal government, and they're not too big on trusting gays with guns." 

Christine Woods as FBI Agent Janis Hawk

Janis also got gunned down in the street in this episode (don't worry, she's still alive), but like any good martial arts-trained lesbian, she kicked the crap out of one of her attackers before she went down.

In Janis's flashforward (the term she coined to refer to the visions everyone saw when they blacked out of their lives in six months), Janis is pregnant and having an ultrasound. She's mystified by this vision, because she isn't currently in a relationship, she doesn't date men, and she has no current plans to have a baby.


Janis in her flashforward

Janis's relationship status looked like it might change, however, when she met Maya in her Tae Kwon Do class.

During their first date at one of the fancy restaurants Maya works at, the two women flirted, kissed, and joked about their flashforwards: Maya was on a game show hosted by Angelina Jolie, and Janis was engaged in a threesome with Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin on the International Space Station. I don't even know what to say about that one, so I'm just going to point out how cute, and romantic, this scene was.

Turns out, Maya's real flashforward was that she was inexplicably wearing a wedding ring. (Hmmm, I smell a stereotypical lesbian storyline coming on.)

After dinner, Maya spent the night with Janis, and the two had a cute scene together the next morning making breakfast.

Here's a clip of their morning-after scene — you can also watch it on ABC.com:

Unfortunately, Maya appears to have ruined any chance of a relationship with Janis by starring on Numb3rs awkwardly broaching the subject of Janis's future pregnancy on their second date at an art gallery showing.

Although Maya expressed support for Janis's future pregnancy, Janis clearly wasn't prepared to talk about it, and didn't appreciate that Maya found out about it by searching the Mosiac website (the FBI-created site designed to aggregate stories about what people saw in their flashforwards).

So Janis bailed on the date, and shortly afterwords, was attacked by the mysterious assassins, for reasons not yet known.

I'm thinking it was karmic payback for walking out on a date with Navi Rawat.

Other than Janis's inexplicable overreaction to Maya searching of a public database to find out more about Janis, I thought the writers and actors did a good job of portraying both women, the date, and Janis's sexual orientation. Neither Janis nor Maya appear to have any problem with being gay, except for Janis having to be closeted at work (but she seems to be pretty matter-of-fact about that, too).

The women kissed three times in the episode, which is three more times than Callie and Arizona have kissed  on Grey's Anatomy this season. I love how ABC is isn't even trying to hide the fact that lesbian relationships are only useful to them during sweeps periods (or when they're trying to do damage control).

But at least we got an actual lesbian character out of this, unlike the totally gratuitous lesbian kiss in this week's episode of Eastwick (ABC). And since ABC has already picked up FlashForward for a full season, Janis should be around for awhile. 

Then again, it's ABC, so you better enjoy Janis having a love life while you can. This may be the only time we see it.

Are you watching the show? What did you think of the episode? And is Janis an idiot for kicking Maya to the curb?

Watch the full episode on ABC.com

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  • elfiesparrow's picture

    Love it!

    I've liked Navi Rawat since she was on the OC and Maya and Janis make a very good couple. Their date and the following morning were particularly cute. And I loved how Janis expected Maya to go through her stuff after she left! Ha ha!

    The art gallery thing was a bit weird... but anyone else thinking U-Haul?!

    catekat's picture

    this was coming for a while

    I gotta say, there were 30ft flashing signs that this was gonna happen from pretty early on. Not just her reaction to seeing herself pregnant, but her reaction when the Nazi guy pointed out that her wearing a ring on her left thumb used to be code for Lesbian... lol

    Gotta say, i think it fits the character. I actually like how interesting and relatively diverse the show is. Its pretty rare to see mixed relationships where neither half of the couple isnt white, so to have a Korean and an African-American as a couple is pretty cool, definitely dont see that over here on the other side of the pond.

    Thanks for the heads up on the lesbian content though, just moved in with a very "Christian" housemate who i dont really know. Not sure she's a big fan of all things LGBT (which is why i havent invited her to peruse my DVD collection) and will be interesting to see her reaction to all the lesbian content that us Brits will get to see on Monday.  

     

    God have mercy on the man who doubts what he's sure of  -  Springsteen

    anna's picture

    heh.

    love it, she was totally suss from the beginning. 'no boyfriend', described as 'a bit of tomboy', srsly. haha. nah it was sweet :) until she got shot... lol. oh janis.
    Bente's picture

    Ok, now I need to start

    Ok, now I need to start watching this show. I think they've aired 2 episodes here in Norway...

    I'm officially a thread killer.

    Rizz Rustbolt's picture

    I think this relationship might be going somewhere.

    Considering the rumors I've been hearing about "Standard CBS Wedding" on Numbers.
    TampaStephie's picture

    Loved it!

    This arc in Flash Forward is awesome! Last night's developments were great! I think they will get back together too. It doesn't look like ABC is afraid to show this relationship fully either.  Also great!

    X_Predictable_X's picture

    Hmm, I don't think they'll

    Hmm, I don't think they'll be ending this relationship anytime soon, I reckon/get the feeling that Maya will be coming back.. or that could just be my wishful thinking cos I think they're absolutely adorable together! And that scene the morning after their date was brilliant! Shall be interesting to see how/if this relatinship develops! =D
    imthey's picture

    Here's hoping...

    Last nights episode of Flash Forward was one of the best so far both in moving the storyline along and in action with the last minutes especially riveting.  

    I was all excited to finally see the hinted at lesbian relationship of the character of Janis and even more so when I saw her date was "Amita" or in this case Maya, as played by Navi Rawat! Perhaps what happened to Janis gets her to rethink things and we will see her get back together with Maya.

    I liked the restaurant scene and also thought it was really cute how after only one date Maya bought Janis that alarm clock... things move along quickly in TV land.

    Here's hoping that this is only the beginning to this relationship.

    On a side note, while Grey's Anatomy is sorely lacking any physical intimacy in their portrayal of a lesbian relationship between Callie and Arizona, I still have to give them props for a wonderfully written story last week with the entire Callie vs. her father storyline.

     

    If God had wanted me otherwise, He would have created me otherwise. ~Johann von Goethe

    Angela's picture

    Flashforward lesbians

    i think janis is an idiot for kicking maya to the curb so soon..is she blind? i thought they were a cute couple sucks if they are really over for good
    shortypants's picture

    Flash Forward>>

     

    I am not bored with the show at all- I LOVE IT!!!

    Fave scene: after tae kwon do classes when Janis' sparring partner asks her out, she turned him down and then when Janice and Maya are alone, Maya pauses and calls the guy a douche!

    Heh!

    I absolutely love this show and I am pleased as punch to hear it will get another season (I was seriously worried it would go the way of Journeyman).

    And I also just got into Eastwick. The kiss was gratuitous (for now...) but the overall show is awesome.

    Penny Winterr's picture

    Good stuff

    Did Maya say she owned the restaurant or worked there?  I can't recall now.

    When she called him a douche I just about fell off the couch and thought I'd wake my daughter laughing so hard.

    I'm intrigued by the shooting.  There's a lot wrong with the flashforward if they ARE the future, as opposed to being a POSSIBLE one.  In her flashforward she looks at least six months pregnant and with no scar from the shooting.  So there's two things leading me to think that the flashforwards are not immutable. That is, unless little details have been overlooked....

    shortypants's picture

    Flash Forward>>

     

    Maya said the place where she and Janice had their date was one of the places where she worked.

    I hope they get back togther and we see Maya opening her own place!

    ajoliefanatic21's picture

    ABC + Brothers and Sisters

    I hope considering the sucsess and the basically non-issue Kevin's gayness and now Sol's has been on Brothers and Sisters which has run for multiple seasons, we will actually get a strong Lesbian character. 

    I am SO NOT keen on the lesbian prego storyline, but I guess we're at that point when its "better than nothing" since the lesbian tv landscape is pretty bleak.

    Kiseki's picture

    love this show!

    Finally I have a new cool show to watch and w/the added bonus of an awesome gay character who actually gets laid! Imagine that! Knew Janis was a les from the get-go, so I was just waiting for her to come out :)
    dragonlady07's picture

    lol

    icon!
    Ash's picture

    Awww how cute

    no I haven't watched at all yet a friend told me about it but since im too busy I hardly get to watch house...But I'd watch it now
    Natalie's picture

    So happy

    I was so happy to see Janis finally "come out" on the show last night, there have been huge hints all season! I thought the storyline was great, they played it like any other relationship and made it normal. Plus, I really enjoyed all the kissing! I'm still somewhat annoyed about the quick pregnancy, and I'm hoping it's not what it seems - that they get together, get married, and have a baby in a matter of 6 months! Although, like others have said, I'm happy with anything at this point.
    Evemaniac's picture

    We haven't seen this

    We haven't seen this episode yet in Spain... but it looks so good!! I love Janis pj, she's so cool and sexy. I hope the writers won't kill her in the future!! LOL

    From BCN with love

    Acie's picture

    I love the fact that i was

    I love the fact that i was telling my grilfriend to watch this show for a few weeks because it was so good and she just wasnt listening. Then she found out there was lesbians in it and she rings me up and shes like,

     "ACIE!!! WHY DIDNT YOU TELL ME THAT THIS SHOW HAD LESBIANS IN IT... I WOULD HAVE STARTED WATCHING IT SOONER!!" 

    looool, i like how she has been in it right from the start and they have brought the story in rather quickly in my opinion. Its great!!  

    lectra's picture

    pregnancy question

    since 1 month has passed, doesn't janice have to get pregnant soon? when is it possible to determine a baby's gender?

     

    and i like this show but yesterday's episode was a bit boring except for the janice scenes and the end.

    BrooklynGirl's picture

    wow

    that's a lot of chemistry for a first date! does that happen in real life?

    and janis is gonna kick maya to the curb for being curious? their segments could've been a little less rushed, but i'll take what i can get.

    massive crush on janis, btw...MASSIVE.

    Viorica's picture

    I love Janis

    But I found Maya kind of irritating. She seemed pushy- why confront Janis about something she obviously can't explain on the second date?- and just kind of . . . bland. Not to mention jarring- why were they promising to "never let [each other] down" on the first date?" It seems kind of rushed.

    ______________________________________________________

    "The state does not belong in the bedrooms of the nation"- Pierre Trudeau

    glwtta's picture

    Ha! I thought she was a

    Ha! I thought she was a little too bewildered by the whole pregnancy situation.

    Too bad the show itself is so mediocre.

    Deco's picture

    Cute..


    ...And I appreciated how normally this was portrayed, but I don't trust ABC and swore off them, so... If anything comes of this, I might check out the DVD eventually.
     
    I thought the thumb ring was funny too. I mean, if you're trying to be closeted at work... Guess she wisely left the rainbow lunch pail at home tho. 
    on_the_level_77's picture

    Mrs. Charles!

    *Love* your Myrna icon!!  :-) 

     

    "It doesn't matter what you do in the bedroom as long as you don't do it in the street and frighten the horses."

    ~Daphne Fielding, The Duchess of Jermyn Street

    Annie's picture

    Boo...

    So I just checked IMDB to see how many episodes each of them are in. Christine Woods is in 9 and it shows Navi under only one (last nights). That kind of sucks how they killed that relationship, I was literally screaming at the TV. Hopefully they will bring her back for the second season.
    eek's picture

    FF/Janis + Maya = Jaya(?)

    If I remember correctly, Maya did say she owned the restaurant during her date with Janis. Of course I may be wrong. Coz  I was too excited to see Janis finally coming out! Whoo hoo!

    When Janis mentioned her flash forward (that she was pregnant) and said "I don't even have a boyfriend"... I swear my gaydar pinged so loud! LOL! And no, I didn't even know her character is/will be gay. So that means my gaydar is in perfect working condition, LOL! Only in that specific episode tho'. Heheh. As for real life, that's another story. Haha!

    Okay, back to FF - Flash Forward... So, I LOVED Janis and Maya having their first date at the resto. It was very cute and then the morning after! WoW! They did have chemistry! It was very nice! The kisses were a very nice surprise! Very welcome indeed! I loved it! I wish my first date would be like that too. (sigh, I can fantasize now can't I? LOL).

    Then Maya gave her an alarm clock at the art gallery, AWWWW! However, I was screaming out loud "NOOOO!" when Janis got shot and left bleeding on the road while her FF was being shown... ugh! What a cliffhanger! I can hardly wait for the next episode. Whew! Thankfully, she's gonna be okay (Thanks Sarah for that news!) It was interesting how Maya was evading the question when her co-worker asked how her date was. LOL! Unfortunately, their relationship got axed even before it began, eeeeeek!  Yeah, I think Janis was not yet prepared to talk abt her FF that's why she kicked Maya to the curb. Too bad! Oh well, of course we need drama somewhere. LOL!

    So will there be more Janis and Maya (Jaya)? I'm hoping there will be. Even if it isn't Jaya, atleast we know Janis is a full-fledged lesbian who has a gun and actually uses it and who kicks alot of bad guys' butts. LOL! ;o) As long as there's a lesbian on tv, I'm there every week! Would be nice to see Maya going to the hospital to visit Janis and get back together... (sorry my imagination is over-drive at the moment, LOL). 

    Loved this episode very much! Whoo hoo! Go Janis! ;o)

    Okay, before I end my novel-y post... so that's really true about the ring on your thumb which means you're a "homosexual?" LOL! Hmmm, very very interesting! ;o) So here's what I found online: "More recently to wear a thumb ring on the right indicates that you are into same sex relations."

    Danie's picture

    Navi Rawat

    Well, she's the only reason I watch Numbers, so... I guess it'd be bad for CBS if she left, but oh man, it woulda been cool if they'd done something with this FlashForward storyline (which it sorta looks like they won't, at least according to what's currently being shown on IMDB).
    akiraj's picture

    Flash Forward is one of

    Flash Forward is one of those shows you're either bored with or not- & I'm definitely not bored with it! I'm going to watch the rerun of last nights episode tonight because I didn't watch it. Lesson learned- I'm definitely not going to do that again. Yay for another lesbian relationship in primetime! Now let's hope Calzona makes out soon because I'm sick of people crying that thats not a real relationship.

     

    -------
    "You can not pray away the gay!"--- Callie Torres

    guitarchik138's picture

    who doesn't love hot

    who doesn't love hot lesbians who kick ass? and cook? 

     liked this show before it hit me that she would be gay. i honestly did not really see that coming...perhaps my gaydar is rusty (though i have to say in my defense it's pretty hard to pick up signals from someone who is probably only playing gay and isn't actually gay in reality)

     anyway. interesting...would love to see how this develops. seems as though the flash forwards may not be as accurate as once thought.

    Kat's picture

    FF Facebook page

    OMG i was checking out the fan page on facebook for flashforward... and i have to say how disgusted i am by the haterd on there.

    They are slamming it for even showing Janis on a freaking date, nevermind the kissing, which was fairly tame. All this BS about how they didnt want to see that and blah blah blah. They even commented as to how it was even relevant. Hmmm, well about as relevant as seeing Noh in bed talking to his fiance. I guess i forget that there are all these bigots when i tend to spend my time in my AE world were we all get along and quite enjoy the visiability (and the kissing).

    I mean, these folks said they'd stop watching because 2 girls kissed! If i stopped watching a show because men and women kissed I'd probably never have to watch tv again! On the plus though, there was plenty of people ready to jump up and down on the bigots.

    Okay, semi-rant over... just needed to get that out of my system

     

    ash_effect's picture

    Un-freaking-believable

    After reading your comment I had to check out the FB fan page and I have to say that I'm disgusted. That's just...unbelievable. I can't believe people are so ignorant. I guess I just don't hear a whole lot of talk like that, except from my parents, so when I hear that I'm just taken aback by it. Unbelievable that one woman says that it's the last episode she'll watch and that it's inappropriate to show a lesbian relationship at 8pm. Pffttt...that lady needs to go back to the dark ages.

     

    It's sad that all the homophobic comments were posted by women. Ick. But on the upside it was men that backed us (and the relationship) up on there.

    monica_ca's picture

    Wow....

    that really sucks. I can't believe that people are freaking out over what little interaction the two had.
    XanxiuZ's picture

    Link, please?

    Do you have a link to the FB FF page?  I feel like going over there are verbally smacking around some ignorant homophobes. 

    Edit: Found it

    Follow Me On Twitter  *  My Crazyass Blog

    Viorica's picture

    So . . . all those times we

    So . . . all those times we saw Mark and his wife or Demitri and Zoe were entirely plot-relevant but Janis's relationship isn't? WHAT THE EFF EVER.  Everyone's relationship on this show is tied into the plot, so the haters can STFU.

    ______________________________________________________

    "The state does not belong in the bedrooms of the nation"- Pierre Trudeau

    Kiseki's picture

    well...

    Whatever you do don't read the IMDB boards. I post there sometimes and had a right rant at some idiots there the other day. Ridiculous to think people would be SOOOO upset over 2 chicks kissing!
    Charged Fan's picture

    Homophobic Hatred Continues...

    I haven't been to the FF page, but the same thing happened on the House message boards when Olivia Wilde's character Thirteen was revealed to be bisexual.  Nothing had even been shown yet, it was just stated, and the homophobic ignoramouses (sp?) came out in full force!  That was truly disgusting as well...and despite the straight fans who ultimately came out to help those of us lesbians in support and opposition to those idiots, it was still depressing to see such hatred coming out so strongly!  If you watch that show, it came out again, probably needless to say, after the Lucky Thirteen episode!  Plus, there are just so many Thirteen haters over there anyway, the whole site became depressing so I quit going there at all. 

    I love FlashForward (favorite new show of the new season), and even more since Janis's character was confirmed as gay (which I'd suspected from the start) and they actually gave a seemingly equal representation of Janis's relationship to others on the show.  But I guess based on your post, I won't go checking out the FF fansites either!  I just hope the writers continue giving such good representation--even if it is going to be another pregnant lesbian storyline.  As someone else said, I guess we've got to settle for what we get...and they've at least started her storyline on a good note!   

    "Sometimes you can just have, like, a moment with someone--you know, when you're doing something totally random, and...it's just, like, charged or something!  -Mischa Barton as Marissa Cooper on The O.C.

    Canuckgrrl's picture

    Karma karma Kalinda Sharma

    Yep, karma really can be a beeyotch at times.

    Not watching, but now will be watching Janis parts... I mean FOR Janis parts!  ;)

    FOJO's picture

    Thumb ring -- I saw that too, lol

    I did a google search for "wear ring on right thumb" like eek did a few posts above and some of the results made me lol.

    Here's a comment from an advice thread entitled "Can you tell a lesbian by the ring she wears?"

    "It’s pretty common for women in general to wear a ring on that finger.
    Now a pinky ring - that often tells you if you are a lesbian or in the
    mob"

    ROFLMFAO!!! Seriously, it's comment #3 here:

    can-you-tell-a-lesbian-by-the-ring-she-wears

    Haaaaaa haaaa... lesbian or the mob... omg, it hurts to laugh this hard, this much!

    But for real, I happen to wear a ring on my right thumb... only cuz the ladies can't see it on my left thumb when I'm playing my guitar or upright bass, lol. That, and I'm a little antsy about wearing rings on fingers for fear of losing them while pursuing other digitally dexterous ventures...

    *ahem*

    So yeah, FF, lesbian character, kiss, morning after -- yay!  ~scurries away~

    Canuckgrrl's picture

    I'm out!

    It's true - I'm a lesbian mobster!

    Kiseki's picture

    hahaha!

    I wear rings on my right thumb and right pinky. Trying to cover all the bases ;)
    X_Predictable_X's picture

    So it's true then that if a

    So it's true then that if a gay chick wears a ring on her left thumb (or right) it can mean she's gay? That's pretty cool if it is true, I wear a ring on my right lol
    rayray's picture

    haa

    I saw this show on my mom and dad's DVR...awesome! They better love lesbians by the time I come out to them!
    Haruka-papa's picture

    I've loved this show from

    I've loved this show from the start, so this new development just makes it better. :]

    However, I'm afraid of any twist that might cause her to go straight. I'm hoping for a shotgun lesbian wedding and pregnancy, but I don't know how that's going to happen. Plus, she's been gunned down, which is going to make that even tougher.

    I have a feeling that she's going to be rushed to the hospital, meet the doctor dude who was about to kill himself when the flash forwards happened, and then go all straight and have his kid. This hunch makes me very sad :[

    Life's a pond I go a-fishin' in.

     

    Kiseki's picture

    eww!!!

    I would be so disappointed w/a plotline like that (tho I can picture it too). That would piss me off even more than what Gray's Anatomy did.
    Tweetsbian's picture

    Three lesbians on a Saturday morning...DVR FTW!

    Just watched this episode on my DVR. Very happy to hear that Janis is going to recover. Was thinking it would be just like network TV to officially out a character and then KILL HER in the very same episode. Close call!

    I also DVR'ed USA's new White Collar show, which seems to have a gay-lady character as well. It's all talk at this point in the show. But hoping to have another hot cop to track in the next episode or two.

     

    -- @Tweetsbian

    Suzzie's picture

    Flashforward.........

    I haven't seen this yet, but I will do on Monday, and I am indeed looking foward to it, but really, couldn't they have any other story line than the whole pregnancy thing! I thought writers were suposed to be original? Having said that, the screen caps looked so cute, and reading the comments everyone agrees....I will just have to watch for myself.

    I hope that this isn't a one ep. storyline, but some originality would be nice too! *crosses fingers and toes*

    str8flunkie's picture

    Good chemistry and somewhat

    Good chemistry and somewhat realistic (except for the stay and rifle through my stuff line).  Dated a cop in the past and she was SUPER suspicious. 

    I like the show and think it's pretty interesting/different.

    XanxiuZ's picture

    I don't think it was their first date.

    At least, they seemed very comfortable with each other during their tae kwon do class.  I'm thinking it was, maybe, date number 2 or 3.  Just speculating, of course, but being that comfortable with each other after a first date is not too realistic.

    Posted a bunch of Janis Hawk clips up on Youtube.

    http://www.youtube.com/user/Derfledermous 

    Follow Me On Twitter  *  My Crazyass Blog

    Sunee's picture

    oh thanks for posting up the

    thanks for posting up the clips on youtube. Now I know what maya said in the restaurant. what she said was "chef actually, this is my restaurant, well the one where I work". oh so she owns more than one? nice.

    oh and it was there first date since she said in her flashforward she was in the restaurant with wedding ring and then goes oh that was too much info for the first date.